The Ames Choral Society presents its holiday concert, “Silent Night”, on Sunday, Dec. 09, at 3:00 pm at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 209 Colorado Ave., Ames. Directed by Steve Hoifeldt, with Barb Evenson, accompanist, the concert program has been selected to celebrate the holiday season with songs of Chanukah and Christmas. 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the beloved Austrian Christmas song, Stille Nacht (Silent Night) and the 100th anniversary of the ending of WWI. It was reported that on Christmas Eve of the first year of battle German and British troops laid down their guns and sang Silent Night together from the trenches.
Selections from
the Ames Choral Society concert program include: Welcome, Yule; The Chanukah Song; Light a Candle; Bring a Torch (women); Sing We Now of Christmas (men); The Snow is Deep on the Ground; The Winter’s Night; In Flanders Fields; and four arrangements of Silent Night, traditional and contemporary. The concert includes an audience sing-along of familiar seasonal songs followed by a reception.
The poem, “Silent Night” (Stille Nacht), was written in 1816 by Father Joseph Mohr. He wrote the poem at a time when Europe was recovering from the ravages of the Napoleonic Wars. Its text expresses a great longing for peace and comfort. On Christmas Eve day in 1818, the organ in St. Nicholas church was too badly damaged to be played. Not being able to imagine a Christmas without music Mohr asked the church organist, Franz Gruber, to compose a melody for his poem to be accompanied by guitar. It was first sung in 1818 in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. In 2011 the world’s most popular Christmas carol, “Silent Night,” was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in recognition of its universal cultural and social value.
Tickets for the concert are $12/adults in advance or $15 at the door; children under 12 are free. Tickets may be purchased from Choral Society members, at Rieman Music, 327 Main St. in Ames and at the door.
On Monday, January 7, 2019, the Ames Choral Society will welcome new members for the second half of its concert season. Cabaret 2019: Under the Big Top, will be presented on Feb 22 and 23 at the Octagon Center for the Arts. The Spring Concert is scheduled for April 28 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church. In May the ACS Summer Chorus begins rehearsals for June patriotic concerts.
Singers interested in joining the Ames Choral Society are asked to contact Director Steve Hoifeldt at 515-232-5545. Rehearsals are Monday evenings, 7:15-9:15 pm, at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 209 Colorado Ave, Ames.
The Ames Choral Society appreciates the funding it receives from the City of Ames Commission on the Arts (COTA), but it is also reliant on membership dues and donations from the community for its operating costs. It is a member of the Ames Council on the Arts (ACAC). The Choral Society has received grants from the Ames Golden K Kiwanis and the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau to purchase songbooks used at community sing-alongs.